'The Boat That Rocked'- Reviews

- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturecritics/sukhdevsandhu/5095034/The-Boat-That-Rocked-review.html- The Telegraph: *** Rating

- http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/86395/the-boat-that-rocked.html- Time out London: ** Rating

- http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/apr/03/boat-that-rocked-film-review- The Guardian: ** Rating

'The Boat that Rocked'-Soundtrack

Disc 1.

1. Stay with me baby- Duffy

2. All day and all of the night- The Kinks

3. Elenore- The Turtles

4. Judy in disguise (with glasses)- John Fred & His playboy Band

5. Dancing in the street- Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

6. Wouldn't it be nice- The Beach Boys

7. Ooo baby baby- Smoky Robinson

8. This guys in love with you- Herb Albert & The Tijuana brass

9.Crimson and clover- Tommy James & The Shondells

10. Hi ho silver lining- Jeff Beck

11. I can see for miles- The Who

12. With a girl like you- The Troggs

13. The letter- The Box Tops

14. I'm alive- The Hollies

15. Yesterday man- Chris Andrews

16. I've been a bad boy- Paul Jones

17. Silence is golden- The Tremelos

18. The end of the world- Skeeter Davis

Disc 2

1. Friday on my mind- The Easybeats

2. My Generation- The Who

3. I feel free- Cream

4. The wind cries mary- Jimi Hendrix

5. A whiter pale of shade- Procol Harum

6. These arms of mine- Otis Redding

7. Cleo's mood- Jr. Walker & The All Stars

8. The Happening- The Supremes

9. She'd rather be with me- The Turtles

10. 98.6- The Bystanders

11. Sunny afternoon- The Kinks

12. Father and son- Cat Stevens

13. Nights in white satin- Moody Blues

14. You don't have to say you love me- Dusty Springfield

15. Stay with me (baby)- Lorraine Ellison

16. Hang on Sloopy- The McCoys

17. This old heart of mine- The Isley Brothers

18. Let's dance- David Bowie

The soundtrack to 'The Boat That Rocked' was released March 30th 2009, very little time before the film release on April 1st 2009. This would have been a good tactic for getting the audience interested in the music before seeing the film, making the latter seem more appealing.

Distributing and Production Details: The Boat That Rocked

Director: Richard Curtis.

Producers: Hilary Bevan-Jones, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner.

Executive Producers: Lisa Chasin.

Co-Producer: Ronaldo Vasconcellos

Associate Producer: Emma Freud.

Screen Writer: Richard Curtis.

Production Manager: James Biddle.

Production Accountant: Nathan Woods.

Location Manager: Adam Richards.

Director of Photography: Danny Cohen.

Production Designer: Mark Tildesley.

Costume Designer: Joanna Johnston.

Editor: Emma Hikox.

Sound Designer: Ian Voigt.

SFX Supervisor: Richard conway.

VFX Supervisor: Richard Briscoe.

Hair and Make-up Designer: Christine Blundell.

Compare the Opening Sequences of 'Se7en' and 'panic Room'

Camera/Shot/Angle/Movement:
In the opening sequence of ‘Se7en’ we see a montage of clips of an anonymous person doing mysterious activities. This is shown through a series of close up shots of this person cutting up pictures, writing in pictures, cutting his own fingers with razor blades and other ominous activities. Also we never see the person doing this except for their fingers which are always busy but we do see this person cutting their own fingers with a razor blade and then the rest of the time we see the fingers with bandages on them. This makes the audience ask as to why he would need to do this to himself. The camera also never moves during these clips so as to focus on the work that this person is doing. However it does move in one clip as it pans across a shelf of journals that obviously belong to this person. Lastly the camera is kept at eye level to the activities that this person is doing, keeping the mystery of this person’s identity.
This is very different to the camera style of ‘Panic Room’ which gives the audience a series of shots consisting of high angle, low angle, birds eye and panning shots. All these shots merely sum up the opening sequence to this film which gives no real clue to a plot. These series of shots all involve buildings and emphasises on their height and grandeur.

Sound:
The sound in ‘Se7en’ is wholly non-diagetic. However the sound is a mournful, slow beat song adding to the feel of these ominous activities that this person is doing. It could be mainly non-diagetic to cover up any sounds that this person is making that could give away who he or she is. Whereas in ‘Panic Room’ we mainly non-diagetic sound of, again slow, string music but this gradually fades and we get a quick sound clip of stereotypical sounds that’s audience’s would hear from New York e.g. car horns, traffic, millions of people talking.

Editing:
In ‘Se7en’ we get a montage of clips all showing ominous activities of writing, cutting pictures and news documents, someone cutting themselves. However some of the clips are replayed at certain times and also we also some of the clips are layered so we see two different activities taking place at the same time. However in ‘Panic Room’ there is no real sense of editing except for, again, a montage of shots of tall and large buildings.

Mis en Scene:
There is a lot going on in the opening sequence of ‘Se7en’. The props are ominous and threatening like razor blades and scissors and pictures of people. The lighting is a dim, pale orange and it sometimes blurs the background which gives the scenery a more mysterious atmosphere. There are no costumes that take place in this opening sequence however we do see this person’s fingers in bandages. Whereas in ‘Panic Room’ the opening sequence is a very stereotypical idea of New York to international audiences of sunny days, traffic, large and grand buildings and millions of people in busy streets.

Characters:
In both opening sequences we have no real sense of who the characters are. However in ‘Se7en’ we do have a persons hands busy at work. But is this the hero or villain?
Location:
‘Se7en’ gives us no real sense of a location. But the audience is supposed to assume that this is taking place in a room or house because of all the jobs and activities that this person is doing and, due to the dim orange background, this couldn’t be anywhere else but inside. However in ‘Panic Room’ we are instantly thrown into the rooftops of New York and then are taking to some of the major locations like Greenwich Village and Time Square.

Narrative/Plot:
Neither of these films gives any sense of plot or narrative.

Visual Style:
‘Se7en’ has a very mournful visual style because of its montage of ominous shots and this persons’ activities. However in ‘Panic Room’ the visual style is very normal every day New York however the mournful music gives mix messages and contrasts with what the audience see and then what they hear.

Genre:
Both of these films fall under the genre of ‘thriller’.

Images of the Key Settings and Main Characters

Images of the Key Settings and the main characters:

• The title of the film ‘The Boat That Rocked’ - shown clearly.


• Bold, prominent font used to draw in viewers, font also linked to the era.


• The film consists of well known British and American actors e.g. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Rhys Ifans.


• They use Philip Seymour Hoffman to appeal to an american audience.


• The stars names are placed above the title of the film.


• The key images of the poster consist of the main characters each pulling an expression that links to their characteristics.


• A large array of colours to represent their large and differing personalities e.g. Kenneth Brannagh has a grey background (boring/conservative) whereas Nick Frost has a yellow background (fun/bubbly/warm).


• The film appears to link to music, shown by use of the word ‘rock’ and the fact that it is about DJs in the 60s.


• The target audience could be a number of demographics because of the era in which it is set. Whereas the obvious rebellious nature of the film would appeal to a younger audience.

Opening Sequence: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement:

• P.O.V. camera shot. Crowd moves and parts as camera gets closer to Bacon, like someone moving around a crowd to see the attraction,


• Close up and mid-shot of Bacon whilst he sells his items. Close up to emphasize business like tone however also shows relaxed persona. Mid-shot of Bacon and buyers to show interest in cheap price of products.


• Close up of Ed, pretending to be a buyer, to show his shock and interest in cheapness of products. However the audience don't know he is just pretending so they think that Bacon is telling the truth.


• Mid-Shot of buyers buying the products. Shows Bacon to be a good liar.


• Close Up of Ed. Shows him to be looking out for something or someone. Audience wonder who or what he is looking out for.


• Close Up of Ed and Bacon when 'coppers' come to show panic and flustered actions as he shoves things into his suitcase.


• Mid-Shot as Ed and Bacon run away from the police. we see a dingy street, walled up street, old looking pub, gray street.


• Mid-Shot as Bacon and Ed run down stairs. Makes Bacon throwing his suitcase in the air more effective as we see how many items are falling out and how much of it he has lost.

Sound:

• All we hear is dialogue until one minute three seconds in when we faintly start to hear a guitar riff (non-diagetic),


• Non-Diagetic music blasts out when the police arrive on the scene. Similar to the rush of the chase,


• Narrator describing Ed and Bacon.

Editing:

• Cuts from Bacon talking to credits,


• Slow motion Movement whilst Ed and Bacon run down the stairs. Gives Narrator enough time to describe one before the other comes in.

Mis En Scene:

• Bacon's goods,


• Grey, dingy London,


• Supposed cold weather shown by the wearing of coats,


• Police costumes. Shows that whatever Bacon and Ed are doing it is illegal,


• Closed off shops, shows it to be a run down part of London.

Characters:

• Bacon and Ed are shown by the Narrator to take part in illegal activities.


• Ed is said to be a good gambler.

Narrative/Plot:

• No real sense of narrative or plot. Because Ed and Bacon are crooks maybe money is involved.

Themes:

• Crime

Visual Style:
No real sense of visual style

Genre:
Thriller

Opening Sequence: Hannibal

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement:

• Opens with black screen and red credits however we hear dialogue between two men,
  
• See image of one of the speakers. Image slowly gets bigger and bigger until we see both speakers: Mr. Virger and Barney.
  
• Mid-shot of Mr. Virger and Barney. Emphasizes the grandeur of the room and the obvious wealth belonging to the Mr. Virger because of his attire although he is in a wheelchair, the fact that he has Cornell, a P.A., standing behind him and also he is the one interviewing Barney,
  
• Close up of Mr. Virger's face. Emphasizes grotesqueness of face,


• Close up of Barney's face to show his displeasure of the questions and answers he was being given and giving,


• Shot/reverse shot to keep the conversation in flow,


• Mid shot of Mr. Virger and his Cornell to emphasize his obvious disability and his need for Cornell,


• Zoom in on Mr. Virger as he is shown whatever it is that is inside the box. His reaction to whatever is inside and the fact that we aren't allowed to see what is inside shows obvious importance,
  
• Slow zoom/close up of Barney's face when stating price of contents. Shows business like attitude and maybe greed.


• Close up of Mr. Virger's face to show greed for the contents of the box,


• Slow zoom/close up of mask in the box. Obvious importance and recognition by the audience as the mask Hannibal wore in 'Silence of The Lambs.

Sound:

• Non-diagetic sound of slow, mournful piano music. Doesn't last long before dialogue enters,


• Piano music continues as dialogue continues,


• Loud sound, similar to a gust of wind, when open box is presented to Mr. Virger. Ominous, maybe showing the start of a horrible chain of events,


• Music grows in voume as mask is zoomed in.

Editing:

• Screen is blaack for a very short amount of time with red credits,


• Small image starts to grow in size from toip right hand corner of the screen until we see the first speaker. As the camera pans slowly across the room the image continues to grow until we see both speakers.

Mis En Scene:

• Large grand room showing wealth.


• expensive looking items like large collection of books, statues, candelabras.


• Mr. Virger is looking very neat and tidy, adding to the look of wealth. Barney in a normal attire showing average wealth, normal citizen,


• Mr. Virger is made up to look scarred, largely disfigured face, in a wheel-chair,


• Pink box next to Barney. Makes audience question what is inside the box.


• Hannibal mask. Obvious recognition from the audience from 'Silence of The Lambs'.

Characters:

• Mr. Virger is an ominous looking man. Greatly disfigured, has a deep interest in Lecter and his belongings (greedy attitude toward the mask obvious proof!). Makes audience wonder what happened to him and why he is interested in Lecter.


• Barney is an average looking man. Recognizable from the first film by helping Clarice Starling. Brings to question why he is helping this ominous character and why is he shwoing this new greed with money.

Narrative/Plot:

• No obvious clues of narrative/plot. All we know is Mr. Virger has a deep interest in Lecter.

Themes:

• Hannibal Lecter,
  
• Revenge

Visual Style:

• On looker or witness

Genre:

• Thriller